Critical Role Review: State of the Role 2021
By: I.Am.No.Man
It finally happened Critters! The exciting news we've all been waiting for dropped at 9 am this morning! (Or yesterday if you happened to catch that sneaky little gizmodo leak.)
Campaign 3 will officially debut on Thursday, October 21st at 7 pm. You can watch it on the Twitch and YouTube platforms as usual, or if you're feeling a more monumental fanfare is due and you live close to a participating Cinemark theater, you can watch the broadcast of Campaign 3 Episode 1 with all your friends and Critters!
Campaign 3 will be set in Marquet, sometime after the end of Campaign 2 and Exandria Unlimited. It will feature the original returning cast as brand new characters. New episode of Campaign 3 will air every Thursday, excluding the 4th Thursday of each month to allow for other Critical Role content, a mental break for the cast, and an extra prep week for returning DM Mercer.
A few other changes are coming to Campaign 3. The cast and crew will continue to pre-record episode as it gives them better quality control, easier scheduling, and a buffer for emergencies or unplanned circumstances. While the episodes will be pre-recorded, they will remain uncut, which means we'll still get to watch all our favorite bits of interaction and teasing that happens at the table.
Speaking of table, we got a sneak peak of the new set! And it looks like everyone will finally be reunited at one glorious table! That's right, it seems like we'll be back to the good old days of Liam getting elbowed, Laura distracting with profane art, and not so stealthy snack attacks.
It was also announced that there will be a Critical Role after show coming early 2022. Seeing as Brian W. Foster has moved on from Critical Role and Marisha didn't specifically name the after show as Talks Machina, we can only imagine that they will be revamping the after show into something a little different than we're used to. Who knows, maybe this was Mica Burton's grand scheme after all and she'll make her triumphant return to Critical Role as new host of the after show. Also, there will no longer be a fan art reel during stream. Critical Role has always loved and supported its fan artists as much as possible, and some behind the scenes legal slog seems to be behind this sudden shift. No fears though, you can still find all the new fan art on critrole's homepage every week.
I, along with many, many other critters are gladly on board with the cast taking every 4th Thursday off. It's good to know there will still be a platform for new content like more ExU, Narrative Telephone, etc while also helping the cast and Mercer especially from burning out on another long form campaign. I've also enjoyed the pre-recorded episodes just as much, if not more than the live streamed sessions. As fun an idea as live stream is, the quality and reliability of pre-recording just bring that much more to the overall feel of the episodes. I don't miss the stream cutting out mid episode, mic difficulties, and tech difficulties that dotted the first and second campaigns. Plus, pre-recording means more overproduced Sam Riegel ad insanity and a continuation of the Nordverse weirdness. That alone might be worth the pre-recording.
Critters we have so much to look forward to! There was the promise of new content, and new cast members, a heavily teased return of ExU, and Narrative Telephone. Now, having that fourth Thursday to lean on that should keep the fans from experiencing Critical Role content burn out. Don't get me wrong, I will force myself to sit through every new show, spin off series, and playlist release, but now I can possibly reclaim some Thursday nights, Friday afternoons and evenings, and the Tuesdays usually reserved for Talks Machina.
With the late October return date, we have the possibility of a themed Halloween costume episode! The cast have gone all out in years past and I can't believe that the cast would release the new Campaign this close to Halloween and not dress up.
I can't wait to meet some new PC's explore a rather untouched new continent of Exandria, hear new voices, new table dynamics, new NPC's and of course another marvelous story crafted by Mercer himself. Plus, with the Marquesian backdrop we have the possible return of Gilmore as his eponymous Gilmore's glorious goods in Ank'Harel, and everyone's favorite brass dragon king J'mon Sa Ord. The possibilities are endless.
I'm so thrilled to finally be able to say this, see you October 21st! And don't worry Critters, it's almost Thursday!
